Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!faline!thumper!ulysses!andante!mit-eddie!ll-xn!ames!amdahl!dlb!ardent!rap
From: rap@ardent.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: ARexx Questions
Summary: and another thing...
Message-ID: <417@ardent.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jun 88 21:00:12 GMT
References: <2119@cadovax.UUCP> <4131@cbmvax.UUCP>
Organization: Dana Computer, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 32

In article <4131@cbmvax.UUCP>, daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie) writes:
> in article <2119@cadovax.UUCP>, kaz@cadovax.UUCP (Kerry Zimmerman) says:
> > Keywords: ARexx
> 
> > After reading so many glowing words about ARexx here on the net...
> 
> > Why would I want to write a script in ARexx instead of using a CLI script
> > or a Shell script (using Matt's Shell)?  
> 
The other thing to consider is that when using ARexx, you can ask ARexx
to perform one of its scripts (as I recall) from WITHIN another program
and allow the script to communicate that result back to the program.
This lets users of programs such as TxEd, with an ARexx port, to customize the
menus to run various ARexx scripts on command (as was demonstrated at
the most recent BADGE meeting).

Using a shell script or a CLI script is more of a one-way street,
probably requiring the use of the AmigaDOS Execute() function,
perhaps returning a value (or a string) into a file, then your
program mayhaps waits until the file exists (because Execute is
asynchronous) to read the result.  Using ARexx, you can make your
"scriptural" calls either synchronous or async (depending on whether
or not you wait at your ARexx reply port for the result to come back
and the result is in the return value in your message packet that
was sent to ARexx.

Come to think of it, I don't remember a way (or is there) to send
a script to the SHELL for execution (either 2.07m or the new 1.3 shell)
other than via typical Execute("NewCLI from script",0,0).  Perhaps
someone could enlighten me on this part.  (is it Execute("csh script",0,0)???)

Rob Peck